Deutsche Bank's Dan Galves told us the trick to Tesla surmounting the critics was its ability to turn an ostensibly startup product to look like all the other guys' vehicles:

We think versus comparable vehicles — the BMW 5 series, the Mercedes E class...buying the Model S, you don't really have to compromise versus those types of vehicles developed over decades. It's been very impressive in terms of engineering this car, and making it something that people are really demanding right now.

We're not the only ones who are eating crow. Lots of people banked on Tesla failing.

"The windows are fixed in their frames," Neil wrote. "The power-steering motor groans. The seating position and outward visibility make a Lamborghini feel spacious. The car's signature design flourish -- a 17-inch, touch-screen control panel with haptic feedback in the center console -- may not even make it to production, concedes Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen."

...he is a designer or stylist… he thinks the reason we don't have electric cars is for lack of styling. This is not the reason. It's fundamentally a technology problem. At the same time, you need to make it look good and feel good, because otherwise you're going to have an impaired product. But just making something look like an electric car does not make it an electric car.

The auto industry might change more in the next 10 years than the last 100. Electric vehicles represent a new category that Tesla could lead given that new entrants tend to win when disruptive technologies emerge. In our view, CEO Elon Musk may be similar to Steve Jobs in being a technology visionary also able to manage and create shareholder value.

But Tesla never denied how dependent they remain on subsidies for electric vehicles. And they've pretty much received every loan or tax rebate that they said they would — check out Tesla's exhaustive list here; even the unlikeliest states have rebates.

Also, the video below proves the state of California will be highly tolerant of Tesla speed bumps: